We will be getting a new Windows 7 laptop this Christmas, after many years' familiarity with XP. Computers don't seem to come with physical media any more, just a recovery partition on the hard disk, and they all seem to come with free trials of various things I don't want. I think I'll need to create proper backup disks from the recovery partition, remove as much freeware/trialware as I can, install the software I really want, and so on. What I really need (and I suspect many others would like) is a "Jack's procedure for what to do after you open the box".Richard CowlingThat's a lovely idea, but it would need about five blog posts. However, setting up a Windows 7 PC is much the same as setting up an XP machine. You still have to enter the date and time, create user accounts, run Windows Update, and so on. It's not fun, so if you're giving a laptop to non-geeky user, try to do all this beforehand, so they can just unwrap it and start using it.

There's an argument for making a backup straight away, but I don't do this myself, and I suspect no one else does, either. I prefer to go through the initial set up, customisation and basic software installation, then do an image-based backup. It's certainly worth backing up the recovery partition, and laptops often include a small utility that prompts you to do it. However, the version of Windows on the recovery partition will be out of date. If you have to use it, you may well have to do everything again.

Once you've set up an admin account with a password, you are ready for ACTION, which is my way of getting people to remember the next step: click the Orb (former Start button), type that word into the search box, and select Action Center from the menu.

This makes two points. First, forget the XP idea of trying to remember where to find files and folders. Windows 7 is a search-driven operating system: find things by typing a few letters into the search box or Help system or whatever. Second, the Action Center is a little starter hub for things like security settings, backups, problem reports and other information.

Use the Action Center to make sure the firewall is running, that the machine has virus protection, that the network security settings are OK, and so on. When you are ready to make backups, you can do that from the Action Center, too.

The other key word to type in is "network", which finds the Network and Sharing Center. This has wizards for connecting to your home network, though plugging in an Ethernet cable should work just as well. Either way, get online and use Windows Update to download all the essential security patches, and also to install the IE9 browser. (It's much better than IE8, which doesn't have enough HTML5 support for today's web.)

After updating a laptop, I install Microsoft's free anti-virus program, Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). You may want to replace it later with your favourite AV program or a full security suite from Kaspersky, AVG or similar company. However, MSE is fuss-free and doesn't get in the way. It's handy to have it around.

At some point, I also install most of the Windows Live Essentials 2011 suite, if it has not be pre-installed by the laptop's manufacturer. This includes Windows Messenger, Photo Gallery, Mail, Live Mesh and so on. Many of these used to be part of Windows, which meant they were very rarely updated. Now they're downloaded from the web, they can be upgraded every year, and they have improved dramatically. (Windows Live Essentials 2011 doesn't run in Windows XP.)

Removing "crapware" can be a tedious job, but the crowd-sourced SlimCleaner can help a lot. Click on Uninstaller and it will tell you which programs are installed, and how highly they are rated by the SlimCleaner community. SlimCleaner will also uninstall selected programs. If you're not sure about a program, click the More Info button to see how many people have voted for or against keeping it, and read their comments. The Optimize button shows which programs and services are being loaded when your PC starts up, though it's not as powerful as AnVir Task Manager Free.

SlimCleaner is one of three Windows programs that I now suggest everyone installs. The others are Secunia's Personal Software Inspector and All My Apps (and I'm pleased to see that All My Apps has now added PSI). For "road warriors", I might add AnchorFree Hotspot Shield, LogMeIn Free and the phone/laptop tracking program, Prey. If your laptop is stolen, Prey could help you get it back.

Microsoft's Windows code used to be the main target for malware writers, but Microsoft invested heavily in processes to create more secure software. Malware writers have therefore shifted more of their attention to Sun/Oracle's Java and programs from companies that have not followed Microsoft's example, such as Adobe and Apple. So, it's not enough to keep Windows updated, you now have to keep Java, Adobe Reader, Apple iTunes etc up to date as well. PSI helps. It checks the versions of programs you have installed (though it doesn't cover everything) and tells you which ones need patching or replacing. Clicking a button that says "Install Solution" means you don't have to hunt the web for the latest version. Recently, PSI has added Auto Updating.

All My Apps is a personal application manager that works on individual PCs and across several of your devices. Its main attraction is that it is a safe way to download and install more than 15,000 applications. The list includes Chrome and Firefox, AVG and Malwarebytes, Skype, Amazon Kindle and FoxIt Reader, the full K-Lite Codec Pack (recommended), WinRAR, Notepad++, Paint.net and XnView, WinAmp, Audacity and Spotify. More recently, All My Apps has started to back up your apps to the cloud, and update apps automatically.

Personally, I keep tight control over everything that's added to my PCs, and I use Mark Russinovich's Process Explorer to make sure nothing happens without me knowing about it. However, I can see that most users will be better off if they set Windows Update and All My Apps to update their PCs automatically.

Finally, many laptops now come with the hard disk divided into C: and D: drives. I set up directories for documents, photos, movies etc on the D: drive. This makes it easier to back up data separately from the Windows and program code on the C: drive. If you have a home server, you can set it up to do backups automatically. If your laptop moves around a lot, you can use something like FreeFileSync to do backups to an external hard drive.

Remember, the only backup you really need for Windows is the Product Key from the sticker on the bottom of your laptop. With that, you can install a clean copy of Windows 7 from any DVD or ISO download. However, your photos and other personal files are irreplaceable.